Energy Conservation & Management
U.S. leads in wind power
WASHINGTON, D.C. – United States wind power capacity increased by 46% in 2007, thanks to a $9 billion investment, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
The Annual Report on U.S. Wind Power Installation, Cost, and Performance Trends, which provides a comprehensive overview of developments in the rapidly evolving U.S. wind power market. The report also showed that wind is on a path to becoming a significant contributor to the U.S. power mix—wind projects accounted for 35% of all new U.S. electric generating capacity in 2007, and transmission facilities capable of generating more than 200 GW of wind power are in the early stages of development throughout the nation.
The report analyzes developments in the wind market, including trends in wind installations, turbine size, turbine prices, installed project costs, project performance, wind power prices, and cost comparisons between wind power and conventional generation. It also describes developer consolidation trends, current ownership and financing structures, and trends among major wind power purchasers. By consolidating these data in a single, publicly-available document, DOE hopes to provide a valuable resource to industry participants, energy regulators, and state and local policymakers. The report has become a key benchmark by which the wind industry judges its progress, and by which regulators and policymakers evaluate the merits of wind power.
The second edition released today improves on last year’s inaugural release by adding several new sections that highlight the growing importance of wind power to the nation’s power mix and economy. Specifically, this edition tracks significant increases in the contribution of wind power to new capacity additions in the electric sector; the amount of wind power in utility systems; the size of wind projects; and the quantity of wind power capacity in various interconnection queues across the country. It also underscores the importance of wind power to the nation’s economy, by presenting data on the growing number of investments in wind turbine manufacturing capacity in the United States.
Some of the key findings of the Report include:
- The United States is the fastest-growing wind market worldwide. The United States has led the world in new wind capacity for three straight years, and 1.2% of the nation’s electricity supply could be met with the wind capacity on line at the end of 2007.
- Growth is distributed across much of the US. States as diverse as Texas, Colorado, Illinois, and Oregon led the U.S. in annual capacity growth in 2007; nine states had enough wind capacity at the end of 2007 to account for more than three percent of total in-state electricity generation.
- Market growth is spurring manufacturing investments in the United States. Several major foreign wind turbine manufacturers either opened or announced new U.S. wind turbine manufacturing plants in 2007. New and existing United States-based manufacturers also either initiated or scaled-up production. All told, the new turbine and component manufacturing facilities opened or announced in 2007 could create more than 4,700 new jobs in the U.S.
- Wind turbine prices and installed project costs have risen since 2002. Turbine price increases have been driven by weakness in the dollar, higher prices for materials and energy inputs, and shortages in certain turbine components – factors that are impacting many different types of generating technologies.
- Wind project performance has improved in recent years. This improvement in project performance has been driven in part by enhanced project siting and technological advancements.
- Wind power is competitive and has provided good value in wholesale power markets. Despite rising project costs, in recent years, wind power has consistently been priced at, or below, the average price of conventional electricity, as reflected in wholesale power prices.
For more information, see www.nrel.gov/docs/fy08osti/43025.pdf
[ page top ]
TIAA-CREF to cut energy use
NEW YORK – TIAA-CREF, an institutional real estate investment firm, plans to cut its energy use within its real estate portfolio by 10% by 2010.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has named TIAA-CREF a 2008 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for outstanding energy management and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, citing the company's progress in improving energy efficiency.
TIAA-CREF's Global Real Estate group has embarked on an energy benchmarking initiative across the 43 million sq.ft. of office buildings and other properties within the company's real estate portfolio, with the goal of identifying opportunities to reduce energy consumption. Thus far, the buildings that comprise the office portfolio have reduced energy use by 125 million Kilo British Thermal Units, which is equivalent to an estimated 37 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.
These reductions were achieved through TIAA-CREF's work with over 30 third-party property management companies charged with the day-to-day operations of its real estate assets to identify portfolio-wide and property-specific opportunities for improvement. Examples of portfolio-wide strategies for improving energy performance that are being implemented include replacing inefficient lighting with ENERGY STAR-qualified lighting, only operating buildings on Saturdays at the tenant's request, and verifying that lights are turned off when the offices are unoccupied. For more information, see www.tiaa-cref.org
[ page top ]
New Mexico requires utilities to save energy
SANTA FE, N.M. – New Mexico’s electric utilities are now required to achieve energy efficiency gains equal to 5% of their total sales in 2005, increasing to 10% of their 2005 sales by 2020. The utilities could achieve these gains through such efforts as a rebate program for energy efficient appliances, home weatherization programs, or programs to give away or discount compact fluorescent light bulbs.
To help the utilities meet these goals, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission must identify and remove disincentives and barriers to such energy efficiency programs, including one key item: the commission must provide public utilities an opportunity to earn a profit on their energy efficiency programs. In fact, when such programs perform satisfactorily, the commission must provide a profit that "is financially
The act allows utilities to recover their costs and any commission-approved incentives through either an increase in base rates or a special fee added to utility bills. It also provides a mechanism for utilities to fall short of their goals, requiring them to justify the shortfall, to set new goals, and to gain commission approval for lowering the goals. For more information, see www.eere.energy.gov
[ page top ]
DOE to research energy efficiency
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) strengthened cooperation for research, development, and deployment of energy technologies aimed at promoting increased energy efficiency through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
The MOU states that DOE and EPRI intend to coordinate future activities to accomplish several goals, including research demand response and energy efficiency in buildings, industrial processes, and appliances; development of guidelines and methods that enable utilities to calculate emission, such as carbon dioxide, reductions resulting from these efforts; promotion of digital communication between the electric grid and buildings; testing to develop digital devices that can function as the communicator in energy management systems and smart-grid applications; and analysis of utilities’ catalogues of energy efficient technologies. For more information, see www.energy.gov/news/6053.htm
[ page top ]
LIPA launches ambitious program
UNIONDALE, N.Y. –-Long Island Power Authority is inaugurating a 10-year, $924-million Efficiency Long Island program, starting January 1, 2009. The utility will offer customers an array of programs to help reduce energy usage resulting in savings on future bills and achieving significant environmental benefits.
Efficiency Long Island is expected to reduce peak electric demand by 500 Megawatts (MW) by 2018. Such a reduction will result in the deferral or elimination of the equivalent of one large or two medium-sized power plants from LIPA’s capacity expansion plan and avoid high-cost, on-peak energy production equivalent to saving 2.2 million barrels of oil.
This new program succeeds and expands on LIPA’s clean energy initiative offering more programs while continuing to promote clean, renewable electric generation technologies and energy conservation and efficiency.
Under the program, residential and commercial customers will have easy access via the internet or telephone to enroll in the following programs:
For Commercial Customers
- Commercial & Industrial (C&I) New Construction – targets all new buildings and major renovations
- C&I Existing Buildings – addresses equipment purchases stemming from natural replacement at the end of useful life and retro-fits (discretionary replacement of functioning inefficient equipment)
For Residential Customers
- Efficient Products – Purchases of lighting, appliances, consumer electronics, in-wall air conditioners and dehumidifiers from retail outlets
- ENERGY STAR Labeled Homes – includes building shell upgrades, HVAC, hot water, duct seals, lighting and high efficiency appliances
- Existing Homes – duct sealing and tune-ups for central air conditioners, whole house retrofit assistance and installation services, Residential Energy Affordability Program (REAP), and properly installed higher-than-code efficiency central air and heat pump equipment
LIPA has deemed the Efficiency Long Island program the most cost-effective resource option currently available. It is estimated that implementation of Efficiency Long Island will reduce CO2 emissions by about 12 million metric tons compared to the CO2 emissions that would be produced from new power plants burning natural gas. This is equivalent to removing 2.5 million cars from Long Island roads.
A modest energy efficiency fee based on usage will appear on all customer bills to pay for investment in the program and to offset LIPA’s lost revenues. The fee will be implemented concurrently with a $28.6 million reduction in base rates to remove the energy efficiency portion of budgeted expenditures under the clean energy initiative. There will be separate recovery factors for residential and small commercial customers and large commercial customers. Residential and small commercial non-participant bill impacts are estimated at $40 per customer per year, and the line will be separately displayed on bills bringing LIPA in-line with private utilities regulated by the Public Service Commission which imposes a System Benefit Charge for efficiency programs.
Participants in the efficiency program will see varying benefits depending on their level of participation. A commercial business under rate code 281 using approximately 62,000 kWh per year ($11,200) that replaces lighting, converts equipment to new ENERGY STAR equipment and installs some lighting and cooling controls, should recoup the investment in less than two years and should see an annual savings of approximately $2,500. For more information, visit www.lipower.org
[ page top ]
Minnesota endorses biodiesel
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.– Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed a bill that will increase the current 2% biodiesel mandate to 20% by 2015.
According to the legislation, the current 2% biodiesel mandate will increase to 5% on May 1, 2009; to 10% on May 1, 2012; and to 20% on May 1, 2015.
The increases are not automatic, however. There is built-in flexibility, including an approval process before moving to higher blends. This will allow the legislature, biodiesel producers and other stakeholders to gauge supply and demand impacts before moving to a higher blend.
The legislation fosters the use of non-traditional feedstocks to fulfill the mandate by requiring that 5 % of the feedstock come from non-traditional state agricultural resources. That includes algae, waste oils, and tallow, as well as other future feedstocks being researched in the state, such as cuphea (an oilseed plant that can grow on marginal soils) and industrial hazelnuts. For more information, see nbb.grassroots.com
[ page top ]
DOE identifies energy-saving opportunities
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has completed the 500th Energy Saving Assessment (ESA) at the nation’s largest industrial facilities.
These assessments have helped companies identify opportunities to save over an estimated 80 trillion British Thermal Units of natural gas – roughly equivalent to the natural gas used in over one million American homes – more than $800 million in potential energy savings. If all of the recommendations from the assessments conducted are fully implemented by the industrial facilities, the Department estimates that 7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions will be saved annually.
Since 2006, teams from DOE’s Save Energy Now program have visited some of the most energy-intensive manufacturing facilities to analyze the efficiency of pumps, fans, compressed air systems, and heating and steam systems. Each assessment type uses its own software tool specifically designed to analyze and identify annual cost and energy savings. In addition, DOE’s teams provide plant personnel training in the use of the DOE software tools. Training a team within a plant allows companies to replicate savings throughout other plants. Assessments typically show savings opportunities that amount to 5% to 15 % of a plant’s total energy use - saving an average of about $1.7 million per plant annually.
For instance, the DOE conducted an assessment at the Dow Chemical Company Freeport, Texas plant. Dow Chemical in 2006 and 2007. The assessments identified $31 million a year in potential savings. As of April 2008, thirteen of the Dow plants have reported to DOE that $7.7 million in savings have been implemented and another $7 million of energy savings projects are in progress. Companies interested in accessing DOE energy-saving resources, see www1.eere.energy.gov/industry/saveenergynow/
[ page top ]
Energy Star leaders growing
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) list of Energy Star Leaders has grown to more than 50 organizations, almost two-thirds of which are school districts. In addition to schools, Energy Star Leaders include hospitals, supermarkets, commercial real estate businesses, and hospitality companies. Combined, each year they have reduced greenhouse gas emissions equal to those from more than 30,000 U.S. homes.
Energy Star Leaders manage energy strategically across an entire portfolio of buildings using EPA's standardized measurement tool for tracking building energy use. These select organizations are recognized by the agency for improving the energy performance of their portfolio by ten percent or more. The highest leaders recognition identifies those organizations with portfolios that perform in the top 25% of energy efficiency nationwide based upon the average of the buildings in the portfolio.
Over the past year, 16 organizations have achieved recognition as Energy Star Leaders, including 15 school districts serving children in kindergarten through 12th grade in Minnesota, Pennsylvania, New York, Texas, North Carolina, Delaware, Massachusetts, Virginia and Wisconsin. In addition, The Stop & Shop Supermarket Co., LLC, which includes Stop & Shop stores in New England and Giant Food stores in the Mid-Atlantic, was also recognized as an Energy Star Leader. For more information, see yosemite.epa.gov
[ page top ]
|
